69' Substitution

Goals from Steve Sidwell and Dimitar Berbatov saw Fulham come from behind to register a massive win against 10-man West Ham United on New Year’s Day.

The Whites fell behind in the seventh minute when Mohamed Diame collected a long punt from Jussi Jaaskelainen and turned to fire home.

But Sidwell headed home Damien Duff’s corner to haul Fulham level just after the half-hour mark, with Adel Taarabt hitting the inside of the post a minute later.

West Ham’s task was made all the harder when skipper Kevin Nolan was shown a straight red card just before the break for kicking out at Fernando Amorebieta and it was all Fulham in the second 45.

Berbatov eventually made the breakthrough in the 66th minute, tapping in at the far post after good work by substitute Alexander Kačaniklić as Fulham sealed a vital victory and moved out of the relegation zone.

Head Coach René Meulensteen made seven changes to the side that shipped six at Hull City on Saturday. In came Sascha Riether at right-back, Philippe Senderos at centre-half, Duff on the right wing, Scott Parker in midfield and Kieran Richardson on the left flank. Taarabt and Berbatov returned up front. Young striker Moussa Dembélé was named on the bench.

Fulham couldn’t have got off to a worse start at a wet and windy Craven Cottage as West Ham went in front with the first real attack of the game in the seventh minute. It was a sloppy goal to concede as Jaaskelainen’s free-kick from his own half was allowed to reach Diame in the Fulham penalty area and the powerful midfielder controlled the ball before firing a right-footed half-volley past David Stockdale.

Fulham began to feel their way back into the game and John Arne Riise saw a fierce left-footed drive from 20 yards flash inches wide of the far post.

But it could have been 2-0 at the other end in the 23rd minute. Senderos’ clearance was poor and went straight to Matt Taylor. He played the ball to Diame on the left and his cross was met by Nolan at the back stick who saw his close-range header brilliantly saved by the sprawling foot of Stockdale.

Taarabt’s low shot from distance was easily gathered by Jaaskelainen in the 25th minute and the West Ham keeper then held Berbatov’s acrobatic volley on the turn from eight yards after the striker had been picked out by Riise.

The Whites were enjoying a good spell and were close to levelling the game two minutes later. Jaaskelainen failed to deal with Duff’s inswinging corner and Amorebieta’s header was nodded off the line by Modibo Maiga.

A Duff corner was to cause even more problems in the 32nd minute and this time the Whites drew level as the Irishman’s delivery was met by Sidwell who rose above Joey O'Brien to head down into the ground and in from six yards for his fourth goal of the season.

It could have been even better for the Whites a minute later as Berbatov sent Richardson clean through down the left but his shot was well wide of goal as Jaaskelainen rushed out to narrow the angle. The ball stayed in play, however, and Taarabt had an effort from just inside the area which hit the inside of the post and was eventually scrambled behind.

Just a couple of minutes before the break Fulham were handed a numerical advantage when Hammers captain Nolan was shown his marching orders for stupidly lashing out at Amorebieta in an off-the-ball incident near the halfway line. There were no complaints from Nolan as he made the early walk back to the dressing room but it left West Ham without another key midfielder after Mark Noble had already limped off injured.

Jaaskelainen saved from Riise early in the second half and the Hammers keeper had to get down quickly to push away a header from his teammate George McCartney after Riether had whipped in a cross from the right.

It was all Fulham in the opening stages of the second period and Duff fired over after exchanging a short corner with Riether and collecting the German’s pull-back.

Kačaniklić came on in the 55th minute for Richardson in Fulham’s first change of the game before Jaaskelainen made a fine save to deny a Taarabt header from a searching Amorebieta delivery to the far post. The rebound fell to Taarabt but he couldn’t adjust his feet quickly enough to get his shot on target.

Duff saw penalty claims turned down in the 63rd minute after being clipped by Razvan Rat – referee Martin Clattenburg ruled the offence had taken place just outside the box.

But the goal that Fulham had been threatening to score finally came in the 66th minute. Kačaniklić got down the left and cut inside with his cross tapped into the path of Berbatov at the back post by Parker. The Bulgarian couldn’t miss from three yards out.

Taarabt made way for Darren Bent in the 67th minute, before Berbatov went into the book for catching Taylor. Bent could have wrapped up proceedings in the 71st minute. A long throw by Stockdale went all the way through to send the frontman clear but his shot was saved by Jaaskelainen.

Stockdale held a Taylor shot in a rare Irons attack, before Amorebieta was shown a yellow card for fouling Hammers substitute Carlton Cole. Duff, who had enjoyed a good game, made way for Pajtim Kasami in the 77nd minute in Fulham’s final change.

Kačaniklić fired into the side-netting late on and although West Ham forced some injury-time pressure with a late flurry of corners, the Whites held on for a deserved and important win against their fellow strugglers.